Little Spring Treasure
by serbekah123
Summary: Takara Koizumi is Ouran Acadamy's new honor student. The school is nothing like she was used to back in middle school, but when comes across Music Room #3, her whole life will take an unexpected turn. Rated K for now, but it may change in the future.
1. Prologue

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

The school day was over and it was the start of spring break. Unlike the other students who fled out the door, Takara Koizumi took her time. What was the point anyway? All of the kids at the school lived nearby, so most of them walked home. Cars and buses were prohibited (something about being "too hazardous to the earth's atmosphere") so if kids didn't walk, they would use bikes, skateboards, roller skates, or, if they lived further away, SolarScooters, an invention of one of the former students, which is what Takara used since she lived a good 8 kilometers (roughly 5 miles) away. After a while, Takara concluded that they probably just wanted to go home and spend the break either doing awesome things or doing nothing.

She slung her bag over her shoulder and made her way to Mrs. Mizushima's room. Today was the day. Unlike her fellow pupils, Takara would be staying on the campus for another hour or so taking what probably might have been the most important test of her life. If she passed this test, she would earn a scholarship to one of the largest, fanciest, and most expensive high schools in all of Japan. I have to pass this test, she thought, I just have to! I didn't study for months for nothing! She opened the door slowly and quietly to see other students already taking the test. Some were chewing their nails, some were biting their lip, some were even crying! Mrs. Mizushima finally spotted Takara and waved her over. Takara set down her bag against the wall and walked over to the teacher to receive her test.

Mrs. Mizushima smiled, for she and her first period pupil were very close. She handed Takara the booklet and a pencil, "Good luck," she mouthed as her star student took the booklet, bowed, and sat herself in a desk, as far away as she could from the other test takers. Takara never trusted her peers when it came to testing, for classmates knew how educated she was and would often try to sit near her on tests to try to cheat or volunteer to partner up with her on a class project so that they would get an easy A without having to do much work. Takara knew this, so she would always do a project either on her own or with Ayame Tachibana, her best friend since preschool, who was also very bright. Ayame also was taking a test in seperate classroom for Lobelia Girls Acadamy. As much as she wanted to go to Ouran, Hitomi's parents believed that boys would be a distraction to her learning in high school. The only reason that they let her into this middle school (which taught both boys and girls) is because of the school's eco-friendly policies.

Takara took a deep breath and opened her booklet. There was no going back now.

~~1 month later~~

"TAKARA! TAKARA!" Her mother's shrieks could be heard from the kitchen to under the covers of Takara's futon, in her room on the other side of the house.

Takara dashed out of her room to her mother to see what the emergency was. When Takara entered the kitchen, her mother's back was to her and she had one hand up to her mouth, her other hand was holding something.

"What happened, Mom?" Takara asked. "Is everything okay?"

"It's more than okay!" Ms. Koizumi squealed as she turned around to face her daughter, a letter in her hands, sealed off with a wax stamp, the Ouran Acadamy stamp. "Come on! Let's open it up!"

Takara had been waiting for this letter for about a month now, and the suspense of whether she made it or not was maddening. She and her mother sat down in the living room and she was handed the letter. Takara hesitantly opened it, preparing for the worst.

It turns out that she didn't have to. She had won the honor student scholarship to Ouran Acadamy, the only scholarship to be given out after tens of thousands had taken the test, she had gotten the highest score. Immediately the phone rang in the kitchen, but Takara ignored it. She just stared at the letter, mouth gaping open. She felt her mother stand up and go into the kitchen, her audible squeals echoing through the otherwise silent house. Her mother walked back into the living room and handed Takara the phone.

"It's Ayame," she whispered, snapping Takara out of her trance. Takara traded the phone for the letter, and her mother ran out. Knowing her, she was probably going to find a picture frame for the letter to hang it up somewhere.

"Um, hello?" she quietly talked into the phone, and was given a loud response.

"Oh my gosh! Your mom told me everything! Congrats!" Ayame's squeal made Takara chuckle, quietly though, for she was still in shock.

"Still in shock, huh?"

Takara nodded, before realizing that Ayame couldn't see it. "Yeah," she said. "But you possibly couldn't know about this when you called. What's up?"

"Well, I am kind of in a similar situation!" Ayame squealed again.

"OH MY GOSH YOU MADE IT INTO LOBELIA!?" Takara exclaimed through the phone.

"YES!"

"CONGRATS!"

"Thanks! You too!"

The next few minutes were spent with the two girls squealing and talking about what their new lives would be like before Ayame was called for dinner. Takara set the phone down and sighed.

She was going to Ouran Acadamy for high school.


	2. Welcome

Takara yawned and sat up from her futon, what a restful slumber! She lazily looked over to her calendar on the wall across from her and her eyes widened. She bolted out from underneath the covers and ran at the speed of light to get to the kitchen. Today was the day, the first day of school, her first day at Ouran Academy.

"Mom! MOM!" she exclaimed as she entered the kitchen. Ms. Koizumi was boiling rice and a steamy bowl of miso soup was on the counter next to her, Takara's favorite breakfast. The kitchen in the Koizumi house was spectacular, naturally, for Takara's mother was the head chef at the _Sakura No Hana Kotēji_ (Cherry Blossom Cottage) _,_ the "most popular restaurant in all of Japan," by Ms. Koizumi beliefs. Do not judge the place from its name, however. The actual property was quite large, with many cherry trees on the perimeter. Nonetheless, the restaurant, while not being the most popular in all of Japan, was the most popular in the city. Because of Ms. Koizumi's fabulous recipes, the restaurant made lots of money from customers visiting often for the fabulous food and the gorgeous cherry blossoms on the trees in the springtime, so the Koizumi's were able to live comfortably in an upper-middle-class status.

"Good morning, Takara," said her mother from her place in the kitchen. She turned around with a big smile reaching all the way to her eyes. "Today's the big day, huh?"

"Yep!" Takara said excitedly. Her mother scooped some rice into a bowl and handed the bowl and the soup to Takara, who eagerly accepted it.

"Go ahead and eat, I've got a surprise for you!"

"Huh? Okay," said Takara. _What kind of surprise?_ she thought, getting some chopsticks from a drawer and sitting down at the table to dig in. Ms. Koizumi walked in with something behind her back.

"Surprise!" her mother proclaimed, revealing the surprise.

Takara's mouth gaped open. In one hand was a dress on a hanger, yellow with a white collar and a magenta bow at the neck, with white wrist cuffs. In Ms. Koizumi's other arm was a pair of snow-white tights and some polished brown Mary Janes, and a magenta hair ribbon to match the one on the dress, _a full Ouran Academy uniform._ Takara felt her eyes tear up as she stood from the table (and the empty breakfast bowls) and ran to hug her mother.

"Well?" whispered Ms. Koizumi. "How about you go into your room and try this on?"

Takara wiped her tear-stained cheeks. "Okay!" She gave her mother one last hug. "I love you, Mom," she said as Ms. Koizumi handed her the outfit. Takara excitedly walked back to her room. That dress must have cost her mother a fortune! Takara promised herself that she would take care of that dress with her life.

Takara looked at herself in the mirror. Whoa. She barely even recognized herself, she looked so elegant! The dress fit her perfectly, like it was made for her. The collar was a little itchy, but otherwise, she felt as if she were floating on a cloud, the dress material was so soft. She took the hair ribbon and tied it around the band of her ponytail. She was ready. She walked back toward the kitchen, eager to see her mother's reaction.

When Ms. Koizumi saw her daughter, she felt as if she were about to cry. "My little flower is growing up so fast! You are in full bloom!" Takara felt her face turn red and she shifted her gaze down to the floor. Ms. Koizumi put two fingers under Takara's chin and lifted her face so that they met eye contact. "I can't believe my little girl is in high school already!"

Takara smiled and hugged her mother again, then grabbed her bag from the counter and slung it over her shoulder. "Alrighty, then! Let's get going!" she said as she opened the garage door.

"Where are you going?" asked Ms. Koizumi, failing miserably trying to hide her excited grin.

"Um, the car. You're driving me to school, are you not?" Takara said with an expression of puzzlement.

"Open the front door and you'll see," her mother giggled.

"Okay…" Takara opened the front door and she gasped in amazement. In the driveway was a 30-foot long, white stretch-limousine.

"It's for your first day! You want to make a nice impression, don't you?" Ms. Koizumi excitedly squeezed her daughter's shoulders.

"Mom! That must have cost you a fortune!"

"No, not at all!" Ms. Koizumi answered as a tall man in a suit and sunglasses stepped out of the front seat of the limo and walked up to shake Ms. Koizumi's hand. "You remember Hiroki, don't you?" The man took off his sunglasses and smiled at Takara. Her eyes widened as she recognized his face.

"Hiro!" she exclaimed and wrapped her arms around his neck. Hiroki Kimura was her guardian when she was in primary school, while her mother was working in Tokyo on a month-long business trip. He allowed Takara to call him "Hiro," a name that only the people closest to Hiroki called him. She hadn't seen him for nearly seven years, and he had changed quite a bit, from a 19-year-old graduate to a tall, handsome 26-year-old young man. Hiroki returned the hug and smiled as they pulled away, revealing his pearly-white teeth.

"Hiroki now runs a limousine rental service that he inherited from his mother, who was the only daughter of her parents, inheriting it until the eldest son of the family blood was of age," explained Ms. Koizumi. "And the eldest son happened to be Hiroki. He was happy to give a favor."

"Wow, Hiro! Thank you so much!" Takara hugged him once more.

"Well, of course," he responded, "anything for my favorite young lady!"

"Alrighty then, Takara, you'd better get going, or you'll be late for your first day!" Ms. Koizumi pecked Takara on the cheek and took her wallet from her pocket.

"Please, Ms. Koizumi," Hiroki raised his hands. "There is no need. This is a favor, free of charge."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," he answered as he held out his hand for Takara, who took it. "We will get out of your hair now. Have a lovely day!" he farewelled as he led Takara to the limo.

"Bye, Mom! I'll see you this evening!" Takara waved to her mother as she stepped into the limo.

"I love you, my flower!" Ms. Koizumi waved as the limo door closed.

Whoa. This was not what Takara was used to. Instead of regular car seats, there were cushioned seats along one side of the limo, and windows were all along the sides. Across from where Takara sat was a glass display box filled with assorted sweets, and 36-inch television monitors sprinkled here and there. The partition window slid open and Takara could see Hiro in the front seat.

"Attention passengers," said a speaker on the roof, Hiro spoke through a microphone up front. "Please stay seated and keep your arms and legs inside of the limousine at all times." Hiroki could make a fantastic "in-a-world" impression, and Takara cracked up at how silly he was being. "Next stop, Ouran Academy, school for the super-rich and wealthy, unless you are talented and smart enough to get in." Hiro looked through the rearview mirror at Takara and winked. She giggled again.

"Wow, Hiro. I never knew that your mom's family had a business like this." Takara said, as she looked out the window to see the sun, just over the water.

"Well, we were too busy talking about you to chat about _my_ outside life," responded Hiro.

"Hey!"

"Hahahaha!"

"Ha ha, that is _sooooo_ funny."

The limo entered the gates of the high school, but unlike the gates at her old school, Takara could see the bars plated with gold and silver. _You know how wealthy a school is just by looking at its gates,_ Takara thought. _Do they not have anything better to do with that gold? Seems like a waste to me._ The limo came to a halt next to the sidewalk leading to the entrance. Hiro climbed out of the driver's seat and opened the door so that Takara could exit.

When she was out, she was able to see the school in all of its glory. "Whoa," she mumbled in amazement. The building was gargantuan; it looked like a royal palace! Then again, it kind of was.

"Still in shock, huh?" asked Hiro (at that moment, Takara felt a sense of déjà vu).

"Yeah, this still all feels like a dream! I mean, the uniform, the limo; nothing like I am used to," she replied.

"You'll get used to it! You'll be attending this place for the next four years!"

"What about you, Hiro? Will I ever see you again?"

"Hahaha, don't forget that I'll be picking you up after school too! Your mother and I have also agreed to schedule an afternoon lunch every month, so you'll see me plenty more! After a while, I'll even bet that you'll be tired of my visits."

"Never," Takara hugged him again.

"Alright, kiddo, I need to get back to my office. Have a great first day!" Hiro hopped back into the limo and drove off, leaving Takara to battle with the first day of school.

It took her nearly half an hour, but finally Takara found her first-period class. Everyone looked like they knew each other, chatting away happily. Even though she was dressed the part, Takara felt as if she stuck out like a sore thumb. The room fell silent as she cautiously walked in and sat at the nearest empty desk. She opened her bag, found a novel that she had previously been reading, and began to plow through, but she was unable to focus, as she heard murmured voices all around her.

"Who is that?" said a voice.

"I've never seen her before!" said another.

"Wherever she's from, she obviously doesn't belong here!" said yet another.

"Silence, class!" said the teacher. "School has officially started, so I do not, I repeat; do _not_ want to hear any talking, chatting, giggling, or guffawing! Have I made myself clear?" The entire class nodded silently and quietly went to their seats, stealing glances at the strange outsider in the corner of the room, sitting quietly at her desk, with her nose in a book. "My name is Duchess Adeline of Babineaux, but you shall call me, Mademoiselle Babineaux, understood?"

The class nodded again. "Yes, Mademoiselle Babineaux," they chorused.

"Alright, class! I would like to introduce to you all, our honor student who has been chosen to attend this school for the next four years! This student is only one of the thousands of _commoners,_ " she said the word like it was some sort of disease, "who has taken this test, and she was the only one who passed." The class murmured to themselves. "Miss Koizumi, please come forward," announced Babineaux.

Takara gulped as she rose from her seat and walked to the front of the class with her head held high and her shoulders back. Babineaux's expression softened the tiniest bit; she seemed to approve of Takara's posture. _Make a good impression on the teacher, check!_ Takara thought as she reached her destination and turned to face the class.

"Uh, hi, everyone!" she smiled her best smile and waved. Takara suddenly felt extremely awkward. Most of the guys were staring at her, and some girls looked at her with envy. "I know that I don't really fit in here…"

"I'll say!" whispered a girl in the center of the room.

"Patricia," warned Babineaux. "We do not make rude interruptions!"

"Yes, Mademoiselle Babineaux," said the girl, apparently named Patricia. "She then turned to the girl next to her and whispered in her ear. The girl snickered, but the Madam did not seem to notice.

"Well, um, I know that I don't really fit in," Takara continued, "but I am hoping that we can get along well anyway. A person doesn't really have to be all wealthy and famous to be a great person to be around. I hope I can befriend you all through myself as a person rather than my status."

"Thank you, Miss Koizumi," said Mademoiselle Babineaux, who now looked as though she greatly admired Takara. Takara had a thing for charming teachers; she guessed that she was just a likable pupil. The only thing that she couldn't explain was all of the stares that she was getting from the boys in her class. Was she really _that_ interesting?

Before Takara knew it, lunchtime approached. She wasn't sure if she wanted to eat in the cafeteria, some of the boys in her grade were starting to creep her out. Sure, maybe they had never seen a commoner before, but _JEEZ,_ could they not peel their eyes away? Takara began wandering around the school to find a quiet place to eat her lunch, and maybe catch up on her novel. Finally, she found a room that seemed just fine, _Music Room #3._

"An abandoned music room?" she wondered aloud. "This place is perfect!" Takara opened one of the double doors…

"Welcome!" chorused several voices.

The sudden "welcome" and the flurry of rose petals that flew out of the doors alarmed Takara. She became so shaken up that everything started to go dark…


	3. The Eight Types

_Ow… What just happe…_

"Oh, this poor girl!" said a voice, interrupting Takara's thoughts. "Who would harm such a sweet and dainty face?"

"Well, Boss," synchronized two other voices. "It was kinda your fault."

" _My_ fault? What a preposterous idea!" said the first voice.

"You _were_ the one to come up with the idea of the rose petal flurry, Tama-chan," said another voice.

"Mm," agreed a fifth voice.

"Well, there was an increased rate in ladies swooning by at least 15%," stated a sixth.

"Guys, just stop!" said a seventh. "She's stirring."

Takara opened her eyes, and was shocked by what she saw. Seven boys were staring right at her. She tried to sit up, but a sharp blast of pain exploded in her head. Wincing and holding her head, she laid down again. A tall, blonde boy with beautiful violet retinas grasped her free hand and looked into her eyes.

"My princess," he said. "I am terribly sorry that we've startled you. Are you alright?"

"Um," said Takara. "What are you doing? Please don't touch me!" As handsome as this guy was, he was still invading her personal space. The boy gasped and ran to pout in a corner.

"Hahahahaha!" Two boys (twins, she guessed), were rolling on the ground, laughing so hard they cried. Takara winced again.

"Guys!" whisper-shouted another boy, a brunette with big brown eyes. "She is obviously in pain, and you all with your obnoxious laughter aren't making her headache any better!" The twins got up and each put an arm around the boy's shoulders.

"Oh, come _on,_ Haruhi!" said the twin on the right.

"We were just trying to lighten up things a bit!" said the twin on the left. The boy in the middle crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, refusing to make eye contact with either of them.

"Are you okay?" asked a smaller boy with large eyes and strawberry-blonde hair, holding a stuffed rabbit. "Takashi?"

"Ah," said the tall boy who was at his side.

"Whoa!" Takara felt herself being lifted up into the air. The tall boy had stepped towards her and had picked her up bridal-style. "What are you doing? Where am I going?" She asked as he started walking somewhere.

He looked down at her, their noses just inches apart. Takara stiffened slightly. "Not the floor," he said as he settled Takara down on a velvet couch, handling her as if she were fine china.

"Oh," she said. "Thank you."

"Mm."

"See?" asked the smaller boy as he was lifted up onto the taller's shoulders. "Isn't that better?"

"Um, yes," Takara replied. "Thank you."

"Make sure you don't get your shoes on it though," said a voice behind her. Takara looked up to see a tall boy with black hair, with thin, gray eyes behind oval-shaped glasses. He was carrying a thin, black book. "That brand-new couch is worth nearly 4 million yen." Takara's eyes widened. The couch that she was laying on (she was carefully aware of where her feet were) alone was worth more than her grandmother's apartment!

Takara sat up, her headache not as bad as before. She looked around the room, at the two boys who helped to get her to the couch, who were now seated at a small table, many assorted sweets in front of them (the boy who had picked her up from the floor didn't seem to be eating them though. _So that little boy is going to eat all of those? Wow,_ Takara thought). The guy with glasses had gone off to his own little area, typing away on a laptop and scribbling away in his black book. Those twins were still trying to get the brunette to make eye contact. The blonde boy who had held her hand earlier was still in his corner and… were those mushrooms? Takara rubbed her temples, that headache was making her see things. "I'm sorry," she said. "But who are you all?"

Immediately, the blonde stood up from his corner and approached Takara, as did the others, except for glasses boy at his table. "You mean you've never heard of us?" he asked.

"Well," said glasses boy from his spot, while still typing on his laptop. "This _is_ her first year here." Takara gave a puzzled look. How could he possibly have known that?

"And?" replied the blonde. "The girls finishing secondary school are made known of all the clubs in Ouran, so she has no excuse!" Glasses boy sighed and turned his laptop so it faces toward us, and all of the boys rushed to see. Takara got up and walked over to join them. Once she made it over, she became shocked.

"Not if they came from a commoners' school," he replied. "Takara Koizumi, age 14, currently resides in Bunkyo in a one story house overlooking the..."

"Now that's just creepy," interrupted Takara, nervously.

"Well, I need to get all the information on our new clients," glasses boy answered.

"New cli…?"

"Wait a minute!" said one of the twins.

"You mean to tell us that this girl is a commoner?" questioned the other.

"Uh, yeah, I am," said Takara. She braced herself for questions and these boys getting all up in her face.

"Cool," the twins synchronized. Takara opened her eyes. That was odd; all of the other students in her class would pester her with questions about commoner life. _These_ guys acted like it was nothing new.

"Well, now that we know our new guest, we might as well introduce ourselves!" interrupted blondie. He held out a rose (where did that come from?) and offered it to Takara. "I am Tamaki Suoh, third year student here at Ouran Academy!"

And so it went on. The small strawberry blonde and his tall companion were the fourth years, Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takashi Morinosuka. They allowed Takara to call them Honey and Mori for short. The third years were Tamaki Suoh and glasses boy, Kyoya Ootori. Finally, the second years, the Hitachiin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru (of whom Takara could not tell apart), and Haruhi Fujioka, who, apparently, was last year's honor student (a commoner, _that_ was why they acted normally around Takara). The club included a first year as well, Minoru Kida, a cousin of Tamaki, but he was sick at home.

"Oh, you would have _loved_ Minoru!" swooned Tamaki. "I knew since the moment I started this club that he would be in it someday! He makes the perfect shy type!"

"The perfect _what_?" asked Takara.

"You don't know what a 'type' is?" Tamaki dramatically put his hand on his chest and looked aghast. "I beg your pardon sweet girl! You see, a type is…"

"Every person in the club has a type," interrupted Kyoya. Tamaki's face turned a weird shade of blue and he went off to sulk in his corner again. "Forgive me, Tamaki, but I can assure you that once you would have been done with your little lesson, Takara would have graduated from here and gone off to college!" Tamaki continued to pout.

"As I was saying," he continued. "Every person in the host club has a type. Tamaki over there is the 'princely' type; he is a talented, yet hopeless romantic who is able to make his costumers feel like they're in a fairytale."

 _No kidding,_ thought Takara.

"Those two over there are the mischievous types," he said, pointing his pencil over to Hikaru and Kaoru.

"Mischievous?" questioned Takara. "What do you mean?"

One of the twins walked up to her and put his elbow on Takara's shoulder. "What do _you_ think?"

The other twin put his elbow on her other shoulder. "Use your imagination."

"You know what?" Takara said, disgusted, as she shrugged the twins' arms off of her shoulders. "Forget I asked."

"Alright then, moving right along," said Kyoya. "Over there we have our 'strong and silent' type and our Loli-Shota type. Since they are inseparable, our guests spend time with the both of them instead of just one. Ever since they were put together as a single request, the club's demand has increased by nearly seventeen percent."

"Impressive," Takara commented, turning her head to look at Honey and Mori.

"Haruhi is our natural type. When he joined our club, we assumed he would need some training, but then realized he had a natural ability to charm the ladies."

"Well, Haruhi obviously knows a lot more about girls than we do, so no wonder!" Hikaru (at least Takara guessed it was Hikaru) broke in.

"Why is that?" Takara asked, turning to face him.

"Well, um…"

"My dad works as a transvestite, so I kind of pick up on things," answered Haruhi.

"Oh, I see," said Takara. Tension in the room seemed to ease.

Kyoya pushed up his glasses. "Then there's me, the cool type. I have a gift of setting girls at peace. 'Due to my calming aura,' say a few of my customers."

The twins were trying not to laugh. "Yep, that's Kyoya," said one.

"One hundred percent!" said the other. Then they lost it, holding their stomachs and laughing uncontrollably.

"How about Mi… Min…" Takara couldn't quite remember his name.

"Minoru?" asked Kyoya. Takara nodded. "He's our shy type, I'm sure you can guess what he does. With his personality, we might be able to widen our publicity at Ouran."

"Oh, I'm sure that we will!" said Tamaki from right behind Takara.

"Aah!" she nearly jumped three feet in the air. Of course, that made the twins laugh all over again.

"Y'know, Takara," said one.

"You should really come here more often," said the other.

"Um, I really appreciate you inviting me again, but I only came here looking for a place to eat lunch," she responded. "So I'll just excuse myself." With that she picked up her stuff and ran out of the door.

"Great going, boss."

"You scared her."


	4. A Cliche Collision

Takara began heading towards the cafeteria. Sure, it was loud and bright, but it was better to eat lunch there than with _those_ guys. What would a "host" club even make profit off of? Sounded like a waste of time to her. Takara looked behind her to make sure none of them were following behind…

"Oof!" Takara collided with someone and fell to the ground, for the second time that day. Her head began hurting again. She heard a small groan in front of her, and she sat up immediately.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine," the boy responded as he stood up and dusted himself off. He held his hand out to Takara, who accepted it, and pulled her up. "You should watch where you're going next time, got that?"

"Oh, sorry," she answered, suddenly becoming very interested in her shoes.

"You're lucky no one else saw that, or rumors would start spreading that I'm a big klutz."

"After one fall?" she asked, not looking up.

"No one in the Haninozuka family is supposed to fall." She heard him mutter. She looked up and got a good look at his face for the first time. The boy looked about her age, with brown hair, large brown eyes, and glasses. He looked back at her. "Sorry, I didn't tell you my name," he held out his hand for a handshake. "I'm Yasuchika Haninozuka."

"Takara Koizumi, nice to meet you," she responded with a friendly smile, shaking his hand.

"Now now, that's not a proper way to introduce yourself to a lady!" Takara froze, it was that voice again. The Host Club had found her.

"For goodness sakes, I don't care how people introduce themselves!" she turned and yelled at Tamaki. Haruhi gave Takara a look of sympathy. "Can you guys just stop following me?"

Yasuchika looked just as irritated. "Mitsukuni! We had an agreement! Stay away from me at school!"

"Chika-chan, I didn't know you were in this hallway, I'm sorry. I was just going with the rest of the club to follow Takara-san."

Hikaru and Kaoru weren't helping the situation at all. "Takara and Chika, sittin' in a tree…!"

Takara's face turned bright pink, as did Yasuchika's. "Shut up," she mumbled, crossing her arms.

"That's it! I'm leaving!" he shouted as he stormed down the hall, going back the way he had come.

"What the heck is wrong with you people?" Takara muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Y'know, she has a point," said Haruhi. The rest of the host club looked at him.

"What do you mean, Haruhi?" asked Tamaki.

"Well, we've been following her around without permission. That can get pretty aggravating, not to mention rude and ungentlemanly."

The host club's faces turned white as realization hit them like a ton of bricks (not counting the emotionless Kyoya and stone-faced Mori).

Tamaki rushed over to Takara and gave her a bone-crushing hug. "I'm so sorry, Takara-san! I didn't mean to act so rudely! You must forgive me!"

"Senpai… can't breathe."

"Aah!" Tamaki's face turned white again and he quickly backed away. "I'm sorry!"

"It's fine, just keep your voice down! There's no doubt that the kids in the cafeteria heard your dramatic apology!"

"Jeez, boss," said one twin (Takara was going to have to make a chart to determine who was who).

"You need to chillax a bit," said the other.

"Okay then, now that we've got that settled, I'm going to go eat lunch now," Takara said as she started heading to the cafeteria.

"Come on, guys. Let's head ba…" Haruhi started before he was interrupted by Tamaki.

"Wait, Takara! Let us go with you!" he said, footsteps behind Takara indicating that he was running to catch up.

"You've embarrassed me enough today," she responded, not looking back. The footsteps stopped, and Takara kept walking towards the cafeteria in a huff.

 **It's a short chapter! (I'm sorry)**


	5. Miyu and Ino

Takara entered the dining hall, grumbling under her breath. _Damn rich people_ , she thought. She glanced around the room and spotted an empty chair at a table of gabbing girls. She exhaled and put on her sweetest fake smile, making her way over to the available seat. The girls' chatting subsided as Takara approached them.

"Hi, I'm Takara!"

"We know," said Patricia, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I was wondering if I could sit here for lunch!" _Keep smiling. Keep smiling. Keep smiling._

Suddenly, the whole table broke out into laughter. "Oh my gosh, Takara! You are so hilarious! Tell us another joke!" she laughed.

"Uh... I'm sorry?"

Patricia's face went serious. "You're not joking?"

"No, I-"

"Listen, hon, you don't belong here. Are you the daughter of a popular company? Royalty, perhaps? No. You are a commoner. You only got here because of your little brain was able to solve 2+2. For all we know, you could be living in the streets with a leaky ceiling and newspaper on the windows! Now, run along before you waste more of our time!"

"But I just need a place to-"

"Oh my gosh! Is that a spider on your food?!" screamed one of the girls, Masami Wakahisa, from Takara's class.

Takara raised an eyebrow and looked at her open bento. "Where? I don't see it." She said. She lifted the box a bit to get a closer look.

Everything went in slow motion. Masami's hand hit the bottom of the plate, sending food flying everywhere. The floor, Takara's hair, but the majority on her dress. The entire lunchroom went quiet and all eyes were on Takara.

"Oops! Sorry! I guess it ran away before I could get it!" Masami snickered.

The entire lunchroom burst out into laughter. Takara looked down at her dress in horror. The brand-new uniform that she had been given _that morning_ was covered with rice and soy sauce. Those stains, Takara knew, would never come off. She felt her eyes tear up. She just wanted somewhere to sit for lunch, but look at where that got her.

"What's going on here?" said a voice from behind Takara.

The lunchroom went silent and Takara heard some girls screaming. She turned around and saw one of the Host Club boys there. Haruhi, was it?

Masami blushed and began fanning her face. "Oh, Haru-senpai! This poor, clumsy commoner girl had dropped her food all over herself! I was just about to get some napkins to help her clean o-"

"Save it. I saw what you did," Haruhi responded, looking straight through her.

Masami's face turned an angry shade of red and huffed away. "Haruhi, you idiot!"

"Um, yeah. Sure," Haruhi turned to look at Takara. "Hey, are you alright?" Takara could hear a bunch of girls sighing behind her.

Takara crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "No, I'm feeling just dandy! What ever would make you think otherwise?"

Haruhi smiled. "I think the Host Club may have a spare uniform. Come on."

Takara heard a few whistles from the martial arts table. She turned to give them the death glare. She then made eye contact with Yasuchika, who wasn't one of the whistlers, thankfully. His faced turned a slight shade of pink and he turned away.

"Do I have to?" Takara turned back to Haruhi. She really didn't want any more drama for the rest of the day.

"You're welcome to walk around the school wearing your lunch. I think you could pull it off," he responded, a smile on his face.

"Scratch that. Lead the way."

Takara looked at herself in the mirror. The new uniform fit her quite nicely. She then looked at the stained uniform hanging up on the rack. She sighed. This new school was nothing like she'd thought it would be.

Hey, Takara-san." Takara heard Haruhi's voice from the other side of the curtain. "Are you done in there?"

"Yeah, I'm done. What's up?"

"I brought you lunch."

Takara's stomach grumbled. That's right, she ended up wearing her food instead of eating it. "Alright, I'm coming."

She pulled away the screen and looked at Haruhi. "Well, what do you think?"

"Hmm. Hold still for just a second." Haruhi walked forward and fixed Takara's hair tie. Takara felt a very faint blush on her cheeks. "There, very nice."

"So, what am I supposed to do with this?" Takara held up her old dress.

"Leave it to me. Just leave it in the changing room and I can talk to Tamaki about it. Here," Haruhi handed Takara a plate of fancy cafeteria food. "I know the food's a bit intimidating to look at, at first, but you kinda get used to it eventually. The fancy tuna is amazing," he said, grinning.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Takara said as she held the plate, raising an eyebrow. "This isn't a prank, is it?"

"I just thought I'd be nice to a fellow honor student! What, do you not want the food?"

"Oh, I'll keep the food!" Takara laughed.

"Hey, how about you come over to Music Room #3 after school? Maybe you can meet the manager!"

"The Host Club has a manager?"

"It's... a long story."

"I appreciate the offer, but Hiro was going to pick me up after school. Maybe next time?"

Haruhi smiled and held up his hand. "Sure, I understand. I assumed you'd say that, what with it being the first day and all."

"I ask my mom about it and I'll let you know if I can stay tomorrow!"

"Sounds good! See you later, Takara-san!"

"You can just call me Takara! We're all friends here, right?"

"I suppose so! See you later, Takara!"

Takara was continuing her novel in class when the final bell rang.

"Alright, class! I hope you had a great first day! I'll see you tomorrow!" sang Akiba-sensei. She was much more cheerful than Mademoiselle Babineaux.

 _Thank goodness,_ Takara thought as she walked down the hall to go try and find Hiro outside the school...

"Oof!" Takara ran into someone for the second time that day. At least she didn't fall down this time. The other girl... wasn't as lucky. "I am so sorry! I didn't know where I was going!"

"That's okay, I'm the one who should be apologizing," said the girl, meekly, as she got down on her knees to pick up the pens that had spilled out of her bag. Takara bent down to help her pick them up. Gee, did this girl have a lot of pens! It was only until they both stood back up that Takara realized how short this girl was, 140 centimeters (around 4"7) at most.

"So, to whom do I have the honor of colliding into this afternoon?" Takara laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'm Takara!"

"O-oh," the girl stuttered as she pulled her long, brown hair out of her face. "I'm *mumble*"

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I'm-"

"What's going on, Miyu-chan?" A girl with jet black, bob-cut hair cut in and put her arm around the smaller girl, who was apparently Miyu-chan. "Is this girl giving you a hard time?" she looked Takara up and down as she blew a bubble with her gum. "Do you want me to beat her up for you?"

Miyu's large eyes widened. "No! It's not what you think, Mori-kōhai! I just wasn't looking where I was going and-"

"I can't beat her up?" Miyu shook her head. "Ugh, fine. I was really looking forward to it though!" The girl cracked her knuckes and blew another bubble. "Ino Morinozuka, first year, at your service!" Ino stuck out her hand towards Takara.

Takara shook Ino's hand and cocked her head to the side. "Morinozuka? Are you related to-"

"Yeah, Takashi's my brother, blah blah blah," Ino rolled her eyes, as if she's had to answer this question a thousand times, which she probably had. "Can I please get a 'nice to meet you?'"

"Oh, um, yeah! Sorry! It's nice to meet y-"

"And this here is Miyu Kanemoto! Say hi, Miyu!"

"Uh, hi!" Miyu shook Takara's hand. "Uh, I'm in the third year," she continued. Takara's eyes widened. "Um, yeah, you probably wouldn't have expected that..."

"Then how come Ino calls you Miyu-chan? Isn't that disrespectful?"

"Pfft," Ino answered. "Can't I call my best friend in any way I want?"

"Forgive Ino, she cuts in sometimes if you haven't noticed." Miyu wasn't stuttering anymore, which was a good sign. "But yeah, we are best friends!"

"That's nice! I kind of wish that my best friend was at this school too..."

"Boo hoo, how will you ever live?" Ino rolled her eyes again.

"Ino!" whispered Miyu.

"What?" Ino shrugged her shoulders.

Miyu turned back to Takara and smiled. "I really am sorry for running into you. You probably had somewhere important to go, and we just messed it up! I just wasn't looking where I was going."

"Yeah," Ino snickered. "She was probably too busy staring at Mitskuni over there." Ino pointed over behind Takara. Sure enough, there was Honey-senpai alongside Mori-senpai. "Hey, cousin! Over here!"

Honey turned their way and waved. He made his way over, with Mori close behind. "Hey, Ino-chan!" He gave Ino a big hug. "How was your first day at Ouran?"

Ino completely ignored her brother and began chatting with Honey-senpai. "It was pretty boring, but at least I could see Miyu during lunch!" Ino put her arm on Miyu's shoulder again and grinned. Miyu's cheeks turned a faint pink.

"Oh, hello again, Miyu-chan! How are you doing?" Honey smiled at her. Takara saw that Miyu was shorter than he was by at least eight centimeters (3 in). Miyu opened her mouth, trying to form words, but a squeak came out instead. She covered her mouth, turning red. Honey gave Miyu a big hug and smiled. "Miyu-chan you're so cute!" Miyu hugged him back with a big grin on her face. Ino smirked. It may have been the most adorable thing Takara had ever witnessed.

That moment was short lived, however, for as soon as Honey noticed she was there, he let go of Miyu and ran towards Takara, hugging her too. Miyu looked as if her puppy had just died.

"Takarasanimsosorrywillyoueverforgivemeaboutearlierididntmeantomakeyoumadimsosorry!"

"Um, it's fine. I'm not mad at you!" _I'm still mad at Tamaki-senpai, though..._ Takara smiled politely. "I was just really stressed!" _I'm never talking to Tamaki ever again, that idiot!_

"…"

"Could you let go of me now, please?" Takara asked.

"Are you sure you're not mad?" Honey gave her puppy eyes.

"Yeah! I'm sure! Don't worry about it!"

"Okie dokie!" Honey let go of Takara and merrily skipped away, before giving Ino and Miyu one last hug. "Bye, Ino-chan! Bye, Miyu-chan!"

"Later, cousin! So long _, Takashi,_ " Ino said his name like it was some sort of disease. Mori's eyebrows slightly furrowed, which was a whole lot of emotion when it came to Mori-senpai. He turned around and followed Honey towards the school. Most likely back to the club room.

As soon as they turned the corner, Miyu turned into a mushy puddle of lovesickness. "He hugged me... twice!"

"And he called you Miyu-chan, too!" Ino grinned.

The two girls squealed and Takara couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, Takara! Do you want to head over to the martial arts building with us? You can sit by Miyu and watch her draw! She's amazing!"

"I'm not that great..."

"Don't be modest! It's gonna kill you someday!" Ino grabbed Miyu's bag and fished through it.

"H-hey! Give that back!" Ino raised the bag in the air above Miyu's head and continued to look through it. Miyu crossed her arms and pouted.

"Aha! Here it is!" Ino pulled out a large book from the bag and showed Takara a random page.

"Whoa, Miyu-senpai! Did you draw that?" Takara asked, her eyes widened. Miyu blushed again and nodded. On the page was a picture of a cartoon girl with cat ears. She was eating a marshmallow and sitting on a cloud. The colors on the page were vivid and well-blended.

"Miyu's dad founded Kanemoto Studios! They create all kinds of animes!" Ino proudly grinned.

Miyu rubbed the back of her neck. "Um, yeah. I still have a lot to learn though!"

"Hey, Takara! What does your family do?" Ino cocked her head to the side and blew a bubble.

"Oh! Um, actually, I-"

"Takara!" Takara turned around and saw Hiro walking towards them. The limo was parked near the front of the school.

"Who are you?" Ino raised an eyebrow.

"I'm Takara's driver. I'm really sorry to interrupt the conversation here, but I think Takara's mother is going to be worried if I don't get her home in time!"

"You get a limo all to yourself? Sweet!" smiled Ino. "I have to share one with three other people! Family limo, y'know?"

Takara nodded. "It was really nice to meet you two! I hope to see you again tomorrow!"

"You should come sit with us at lunch tomorrow! We normally eat it at the library, you should meet us there!" Miyu smiled, but then added. "If you want to, o-of course! I d-don't want to force you or anything..."

"Okay! Sounds good! See you two tomorrow!" Takara waved to them and went back to the limo with Hiroki. As the limousine door closed, Takara thought that perhaps there were some nice people at that school after all.


	6. Lady of the Iris

The final bell rang, and Ayame collected her books from her desk with a smile. Her first day had been amazing, and she felt so lucky to have made so many friends. At first, she regretted taking the test, as she would have preferred getting a chance to go to Ouran with her best friend. Speaking of Takara, Ayame wondered how _her_ first day was. Did she make any friends? Did she find any cute boys? She giggled to herself. At their secondary school, Takara was a pretty emotionless person, and normally only smiled or laughed when they were alone together. Ayame remembered when she called Takara a few weeks into summer break. Remembering her excited squeals when they were talking about what their new high schools would be like. She wanted to be around _that_ Takara more often.

'Now, where did the guide say the dorm rooms were again?' Ayame wondered to herself. Her family was struggling with money, and her parents didn't think they could afford to spend nearly two hours driving her to school and back every single day, so the family decided that she would just stay in the dorm rooms and call her parents every day to catch up. They didn't like it, but eventually decided it was for the best.

Her baggage was taken to her room when she arrived, but she had no idea where the building even was. Eventually giving up in trying to find it, she looked around for someone to ask for directions. As if on cue, three girls left one of the many rooms in the hallway and began sprinting towards Ayame. She waved her hand, trying to signal them to stop. "Excuse me!"

"This way!" The tallest of the three grabbed a hold of Ayame's arm and pulled her in the opposite direction she was headed.

"Whoa! What's going on?" Ayame asked in a panic as she ran behind the girl holding her arm. Behind her she could hear a stampede of screaming girls.

"In here!" said a girl with a bob cut, holding open a door. They all rushed inside of the empty classroom and the three girls sighed with relief as the screams passed the door and began getting quieter.

"I apologize, my dear maiden," said the tallest girl, cupping one of Ayame's cheeks. "We were all in a hurry and I didn't know what I was thinki-" she froze in midsentence and beckoned the other girls over. They rushed to stand by her side. "Girls, look at these beautiful irises!" The girl brushed her thumb underneath Ayame's striking blue eyes.

"Astounding!"

"Gorgeous!"

"I'm sorry?" Ayame cut in politely, a faint blush on her cheeks. "Look, this has been fun and all, but I'm new here, and a bit lost. Could someone please show me where the dorm building is?"

"I would gladly escort you to your new room!" volunteered the long-haired girl.

"Oh, please! I'm sure she would appreciate someone closer to her age to show her around." exclaimed bob-cut.

"Girls, girls," said the tallest, raising both hands. "Perhaps _I_ should show her around. I _do_ know this school like the back of my hand."

The three of them began bickering, leaving a confused Ayame to stand off to the side. "I'm sorry, but who are you three?" They immediately turned back to her with confused expressions on their faces.

"You don't know?" asked bob-cut, raising an eyebrow.

"I apologize again, my dear! We weren't aware you were unfamiliar with the Zuka club!"

"The... Zuka club?"

"The Zuka club~!" The three chorused together.

"Uh..."

"Well, surely you've heard of the White Lily League!" The bob-cut girl cocked her head to the side.

"Uh..."

The long-haired girl gasped dramatically. "She _doesn't_!" All three of them gasped, as if it were a crime.

Ayame sighed and muttered a "never mind" before standing up and grabbing hold of the doorknob.

"Wait!" The tallest quickly grabbed Ayame's hand. "How rude of us to not introduce ourselves, my fair maiden~." She gently lifted Ayame's hand to kiss the back of her left hand. "Benio Amakusa, third year. It is such a privilege to meet you. You may call me Benibara, if you wish~."

"O-okay," a flustered Ayame responded. The kiss was most certainly unexpected. "Nice to meet you!"

"I am Chizuru Maihara, Suzuran for short, in the third year as well~. Pleased to make your acquaintance." The girl with long hair walked over to Ayame and put her arm around her shoulders.

"And I'm Hinako Tsuwabuki, a second year. Most call me Hinagiku. How do you do~?" Bob-cut gave a small curtsy and walked over to link arms with the speechless first year. Ayame suddenly felt very small. Although she was a bit used to being the center of attention for her good looks and flattering eyes (many boys at school had confessed their love for her), Ayame's encounters were never quite like this.

"I think I may have heard of you guys before, now that you mention it. I'm sorry for asking this again, but I really need to get to my room. Could you please at least point me in the general direction?"

"Of course, darling," said Benibara, standing up. "If it does not offend you, may I ask why you would need our guidance?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong," added Suzuran, "but don't the eighth graders from the local academies get a tour of all the high schools to fins what would fit their needs?"

"Goodness!" exclaimed Hinagiku. "Are you perhaps from outside the country?"

"Oh, not exactly!" Answered Ayame. "I'm an honor student, see, and-"

"An honor student!" The three club members cheered in excitement.

"We haven't had one in such a long time!" Hinagiku squealed.

"Oh, how exciting!" Said Suzuran.

"Forgive us for our little outburst, dear maiden," Benibara put a hand on her chest. "We are just so very excited! It's not every year we get an honor student here! You must be the Ayame Tachibana we've heard so much about!"

"Yes, that's me. Is my being an honor student big enough news for it to spread around?"

"The last time we met an honor student from _any_ school, we had such an extravagant time!" Sighed Hinagiku. "Remember how soft her skin was?" The other girls swooned in agreement.

"If it weren't for those intervening pretty boys, we're certain she would have transferred to our school instead!" Scoweled Suzuran.

"Yes, it was quite sad to hear that our dear Haruhi would not be coming along with us." Sighed Benibara. "No matter! The past is behind us! Have we forgotten our new guest?" She slipped her arm around Ayame's waist. "Do not fret, young maiden. For as long as you stay with us, you will never feel lost again! Come, we will guide you to the dormitories."

As the four gracefully glided down the hallways (excluding Ayame, struggling to keep up), they came across the sea of fangirls once more. Benibara raised her hand to silence the crowd.

"Ladies, I introduce to you, our newest member of the White Lily League—Ayame Tachibana, Lady of the Iris!"

Before Ayame could respond, she was flooded with questions by the fans. Was she the rumored honor student? What school did she go to before? Was she single? She could barely grasp onto what was happening before Benibara gave her a kiss on the cheek, before whispering into her ear. "Welcome home, Airisu~."

 **Yay, an Ayame chapter! Goodness, it's been a while. Looking back at the previous chapters make me want to cringe. I promise not to act like such an otaku in future updates! ^^; It's been nearly a year since my last update and I'm sowwy. I just kinda forgot that I had written this story in the first place. I ended up getting into the fancy-ish high school I applied for. Pretty similar to normal high school except that there is no dress code (by none, I mean NONE), passing periods are like 20 minutes long, and lunch is nearly an hour long-which is long enough to be able to walk to this** _ **amazing**_ **donut shop a few blocks away! It's pretty sweet. Pun intended.**


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